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ThreatFabric identified Hirudo, an Android banking trojan that steals credentials and enables live remote control by replacing legitimate banking apps with modified copies. Researchers found patched versions of eight Indonesian banking apps, impersonation of at least seven Indonesian banks, and additional credential targets in China, India, Mexico, Morocco, and Thailand. Apparently functional shopping, video, adult-content, and short-drama apps deliver the malware as a separate installation package through fake update prompts. Distribution is linked to counterfeit Google Play pages and suspected advertising on Meta-owned platforms.
Hirudo abuses Android Accessibility permissions to facilitate installation of the patched apps, surveillance, and remote control. The replacements embed a hooking engine that manipulates signature verification, accessibility detection, screen-capture protections, and integrity checks, undermining defenses inside the banking applications rather than relying solely on fake overlays. Researchers found thousands of application-credential entries in an unsecured campaign-management backend, but the victim count remains unknown. Banks should prioritize server-side integrity and attestation validation rather than trusting locally generated security signals; Google has marked two certificates in Hirudo’s leaked attestation keybox as compromised.
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ThreatFabric found thousands of application-credential entries in an unsecured Hirudo backend panel, alongside device records, lock-screen data, and financial profiles. The number of victims remains unknown.
ThreatFabric identified Hirudo, an Android banking trojan delivered through functional lure apps and fake update prompts that steals credentials and enables remote device control. Researchers found malicious replacements for eight Indonesian banking apps that undermine internal security checks, with additional credential targeting in China, India, Mexico, Morocco, and Thailand.
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Aug 14, 2026